Granada

That which is lacking in sober Toledo is evident everywhere in glowingGranada. The fiery Andalusian sun gilds and colours the city, and thewhitened houses cast a deep blue shade in the narrow streets. Noforbidding portals bar the way to the flowing patios, those courtyardsthat are to-day one of the chief charms of the Andalusian towns. […]

Toledo

Since visiting Toledo in Spain I have read that masterly novel by Blasco deIbañez, “The Cathedral,” a work of genius, which has brought the cityvividly to my recollection. I see the old dun-coloured houses on theslopes, the gorge of the yellow Tagus, and the commanding steeple of thecathedral, and I recall the Oriental landscape, viewed […]

Cordova

Cordova, like Seville and Granada, is a memorial of the Moors in Spain. It is acity that sleeps, living in the memory of its past. Its history since the last of the sultans in Spain is comparativelyuneventful, its glorious days were before the expulsion of the Moriscoinhabitants, when the city was a seat of learning, […]

Seville

A house in Seville is the reward of those beloved by the gods. In Toledo you are made reflective, perchance a little melancholy, while in Granada you are infected by the spirit of a past long dead. But in fair, sunlit Seville you live in the present as well as in the past; and your heartis made light […]

Verona Italy

Amid surroundings of great beauty, in a northern corner of Italy, with ahuge mountain barrier in the rear, and not far from the Lake of Garda,is the old city of Verona. Shakespeare called the place “fair Verona,”and made it the scene of _Romeo and Juliet_, while the city is again thebackground of drama in _The […]

Florence

“Firenze la bella”, the pride of its natives, the dream of poet and painter and the delight of a multitude of travellers, lies amid graceful hills, clothed with olive gardens and dotted with white villas. In the clear distance are the splendid Apennines. Climb to the terrace of San Miniato, and you will gain a wide general view of […]

Perugia

A white town, perched high on a bleak hill, is one’s first impression ofPerugia. The position of the capital of Umbria is menacing, and withoutany confirmation of history, one surmises that this was once a Romanfortified town. After being built and held by the Etruscans, Perugia wastaken by the Roman host, and called Augusta Perusia. […]

Venice Italy

The very name breathes romance and spells beauty. Poets, artists, andhistorians without number have revealed to us the glories of this city.Dull indeed must be the perception of loveliness of form and colour inthe mind of the man who is not deeply moved by the contemplation of theStones of Venice. Yet it seems to me […]

Assisi Italy

“There was a man in the city of Assisi, by name Francis, whose memory isblessed, for that God, graciously presenting him with blessings ofgoodness, delivered him in His mercy from the perils of this presentlife, and abundantly filled him with the gifts of heavenly grace.“ So speaks Saint Bonaventura of the noble character of the […]

Rome

The story of Rome is a mighty chronicle of such deep importance towardsan understanding of the growth of Europe, that a feeling almost ofhelplessness assails me as I essay to set down in this limited space anaccount of the city’s ancient grandeur and of its monuments. It is witha sense of awe that one enters […]